yekim1967
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Posts posted by yekim1967
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Visited the black sea from st vlas to the south quite impressed actually except sunny beach which is a bulgarian version of Blackpool The unspoilt nature in the south on black sea coast is really beautiful Will visit again Nessebar is very interesting and cultural but best thing about Bulgaria is the women although the yogurt is quite nice too. Seriously though I could buy a property ifor the same cost as my annual pension contributions and it has crossed my mind.
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Hi,
Can anyone help me with the following question.
If I invest say four hundred thousand pounds in a sipp, and if I split this amount by investing forty thousand pounds in each of ten funds provided within the sipp by ten different companies, will each of those ten investments be covered by the FSA compensation scheme in the event of the sipp provider going bust, thereby protecting my total funds.
Pardoe.
I don't "think" its necessary to worry about this, as the government covers 90% of all personal pension funds. see here for more detail
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Prices are supposedly falling – so why does it cost £200,000 to get on the property ladder where I grew up?
Connie Allfrey
19.10.10 I'm back on the property prowl for the third time in as many years, filled with both hope and foreboding. The good news seems to be that house prices are falling — though sellers are artificially hiking up asking prices in anticipation of lower offers. The bad news is that the banks are making a mortgage more unobtainable than ever. Add to that a surge in London rents and my hunt for a flat takes on a new urgency.
My previous search saw me make an offer on a two-bed back in the dizzy heights of 2007, when securing a mortgage for 10 times my salary was not impossible but my offer was snubbed at the last minute.
I'm 29 now though, tired of throwing confetti money at rent and of feeling fearful when friends say their lives have got meaning since they found a flat with room for a loft extension with bath.
So I'm looking again, slightly jaded, but more finely tuned. I am keen to stay in the west, as although I'll get less space here than in Stoke Newington, where one artist friend has just bought a fantastic flat, keeping close to my family and most of my friends is a bigger draw. My search started two months ago when I read with glee how buyers are holding all the cards, prices are going to slump more, now is the time. Hurrah, I thought, bracing myself for a day of viewings. But the reality is slightly more Farrow & Ball beige.
House prices may be dropping but “London is exceptional”, as Peter Rollings, managing director of Marsh and Parsons, hammers home on his video blog. There are the overseas buyers — Greek and Spanish money coming in — who confuse things, plus there are simply more people than properties.
Demand is high and the pickings are certainly slim; property owners are clinging onto their bricks, partly because, if they did sell, they'd have trouble putting their feet on the next step of the ladder, forcing them to rent. Lack of stock is a big concern and although the market keeps shuffling along with births, deaths and marriages, it's not the array I was expecting.
In fact, I am wholly disheartened by how little £200,000 can buy, which is the amount my mortgage can stretch to on £28,000 a year, even with a dizzy deposit of £60,000. A soulless 300sq ft basement studio in W10 is the depressing truth for such an amount. As I am intending to be holed up in my new home for a while and am reluctant to cull all loud, smoking friends who would dwarf it further, I extend my search above £250,000, feeling vertiginous and fearful as I do so.
In order to secure this larger mortgage, I need my parents as guarantors that I won't default on payments. I'm incredibly fortunate that they are able and willing to do this, but bringing them in does muffle the exciting jingle of my prospective keys somewhat. For anyone on £28,000 with no support at all it's a battle to find a first property with these stricter mortgage rules and so little choice.
Even with my leg-up, I'm struggling to find one of those “drastic reductions” I keep reading about. Westward, vendors seem to be sticking like lichen to their asking prices. A covetable garden flat on Bracewell Road was over my budget but I was told the vendor had already refused an offer of only £3,000 less, despite her new baby and need to upsize.
Thank God for Chris from Foxtons, flame-haired with bright blue suit and shoe-boots, who is recently engaged and hoping to pay for the wedding through a shrewd property move — he intends to buy something for £175,000 now, make some tweaks, and sell it on next year, April he says, for £250,000. His confident plan sounds assuring.
When something new drips on, Chris texts and we whizz to see it while he regales me with property stories, which panic or elate. One lady recently had her Holland Park property on for £675,000 furnished but received so much attention she upped the price to £695,000. Despite an immediate offer, she's now thinking she could get that without the furniture. Maybe she can as she clearly has a thoroughbred on her hands, but it's bad news for me that vendors can still be so greedy.
Some prices are realistic — the North Kensington two-bed I had an offer on in 2007 is back on again at £30,000 less. While making me feel better about the rent I've technically squandered, this also makes me realise how mad I and the property market were back then; biting at anything with room to spin a minnow in.
Now I'm more cautious, even though my budget is a handsome £250,000. I was tempted to make an offer on the Bassett Road flat (above) but it felt too much like a roulette move than a definite winner, and I feel extra pressure now to ensure I make the right investment choice. Plus I want to be able to fit my family in for dinner, as my parents will have a stake in the oven.
I'm desperate not to slip down the seductive snake of renting again but to get my toe on a property rung by Christmas. If only I manage to tether this elusive mortgage first...
Getting A Mortgage
The environment has changed completely in the past few years, says Tony from Alexander Hall when I phone him. The Bank of England's Credit Conditions Survey warns of “tightened credit-scoring criteria” and a “more cautious approach”; notably this means preparation must be thorough, with my documents, proof of income, credit etc, all in order to give me the best shot.
It's a panic for me, because while I have a 25 per cent deposit of £60,000, which is fairly high for a first-time buyer, my salary is low at £28,000. Tony says the maximum I could hope for is £125,000, about five times my salary, so I'd be looking for a £195,000 property. I could then get a blood relative to be a guarantor, but even that is harder now with lenders really prying into my parents' financial situation, then mine, to see if I could, in a few years, substantiate the mortgage by myself.
If I did secure a £125,000 mortgage, using my parents as guarantors, I could happily exist with secure monthly payments of about £622 a month, but with the main interest rate set to steadily rise, this will only increase. Securing a mortgage is possible but I hang up the call feeling despondent and anxious, surrounded by shreds of Opi nail varnish.
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If you are a high rate tax payer, you should definitely put "some" into a pension, sounds like you have some left over even after a home deposit and ISAs. Its a 67% return guaranteed NO risk. Pension plans are extremely flexible now, and the rules make them an attractive alternative, that even if you want to work until you die, they are still a great investment.
Or if you if want to risk a bit, the emerging market equities have been on a serious bull run for 2 years now, although it might all end in tears...
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I think the improvement in housing stock has little to do with the increase in values. Ultimately it’s the willingness/ability and availability of finance of the buyers that dictate prices. There are so many other factors involved in price increases, but I would think that improved housing stock is not one of the main drivers, (UK housing is still quite poor by Western Standards, yet the values are much higher, say than Europe or North America) Prices have went up slightly more than inflation, mainly because of the credit bubble, and you see prices now deflating since 2007 in real terms, so eventually it will fall back in line with inflation. But remember thats wage inflation.
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The sheeple buy what Hargreaves and lansdowne tell them to buy. Doesn't matter if they know what it is
Hey nohpc. Just curious why you used h&l for example. I just set upan acct with them and find there "research" useful but try to use other sources as well but why so negative towards h&l because they seem quite independent and quite often there recommendations are similiar to trustnet. Cheers
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Agreed. Absolutely unbelievable. But house prices never get mentioned. It's the great taboo of tv in paticular, because a very large majority of media people (like MP's) appear to own multiple homes.
There was a quick mention of house prices. One guy mentioned that he felt the big increases in the stockmarket and house prices in the past would not be repeated and that pensions would be difficult to survive off of
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It sounds like you have done your research and fair play to you.
SIPPs do not sit with my general strategy in life. My aim is similar to yours (retire early). However, there are several reasons why I do not go with SIPPS, I will list some generic ones rather than those pertaining to me:
1) We live in interesting times, perhaps very interesting.
2) There is no guarantee what is going to happen in the next 10 years, much less 30-40, or even 50 years.
3) Even if UK plc still exists by then, what is to stop any government changing the rules by the time you try to withdraw your SIPP? Let your imagination run a little on this one.
I aim to stay relatively agile within the system, so locking any money away for decades is anathema, despite the generous tax breaks. I did not run much of a detailed analysis, the opportunity cost and exposure to the future are enough negatives for me.
I wish you best of luck whatever you choose to do.
Cash in regards to 3) I definitely agree with you, and that does worry me, although, the 67% tax uplift I get on higher tax relief, and the possibility of transferring the pension overseas on retirement kind of offsets my worries. If I knew where I could get an easy 10% return I would opt out of the pension, but 10% is hard these days, and the gov't tax incentive on higher rate tax relief for pensions is too good of a deal that cannot be passed up, especially in this environment.
Cheers,
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Regarding insurance companies with low cost investment options targetting a specific retirement date/age:
Scottish Life
Scottish Widows
Standard Life
probably others
WICAO, you may not like their solutions though because they operate the investment management and oversight themselves within that cost base. I get the impression you'd prefer to do it yourself.
To yekim1967, a note of caution when moving from Aegon to a SIPP. Bear in mind the responsibility of 'self investment' that I mentioned earlier. A wide range of funds might be a good thing but can you choose and actively monitor and review your choices from now until retirement? Is doing so a good use of your time? The answer to both questions might easily be 'yes' in which case a SIPP might be for you, but some will answer 'no' to one or both of the above.
Voice, Buying the exact same funds between Aegon and HL, Aegon is more expensive (in most cases between .2 and .5% more and even higher on some), although with Aegon the extra cost comes with "free" advice. I won't be too active in investing via the SIPP, I am just using it for lower cost really as Aegon was too expensive for doing the exact same thing. So I will pay less with HL, plus have the added benefit of better service and more choice. Aegon advice was not very good anyway, and with HL, I can choose some good fund managers. I am not comfortable going with the basic Aegon funds which charge .75%
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Hi yekim1967
That's what I thought until I dived into the research. That only seems to hold for 'high cost' funds. If you're looking for low cost tracker fund products then H-L are adding an additional annual charge of 0.5% + VAT. Example here http://www.h-l.co.uk/funds/fund-discounts,-prices--and--factsheets/search-results/f/fidelity-moneybuilder-uk-index-accumulation/
They also don't offer all funds. Vanguard for instance are missing.
If you go for low cost ETF's they are also charging you on top of the ETF charges.
I've run the numbers for myself here http://www.h-l.co.uk/funds/fund-discounts,-prices--and--factsheets/search-results/f/fidelity-moneybuilder-uk-index-accumulation/ and I think Sippdeal and Alliance Trust are better options for me.
Of course always do your own research.
Thanks for the advice on the ETF funds. But excluding the funds that dont charge that .5% management fee, I think these fund prices are the same across all SIPP providers as these are the charges by the fund managers not the SIPP provider, is that correct? So you cannot find a better deal for the same fund, or can you? I am looking to move my pensions away from Aegon, because I feel the fees are not worth it, I pay .75% for nothing (management fee/IFA fee), and a fund fee as well for a poor list of funds, so I end up paying 1.5% anyway, and if I want a Schroder funds or something like that, its more like 2+%. So for the same fees or less, I could have better choice and invest in a SIPP. I will investigate SIPP deal.
Cheers,
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Agree with you VoR.
I admit that investing for retirement is also a hobby for me. That's one reason why I blog about it. Probably a bit sad I know
Let's though have a look at the US as a comparison. I know nothing about investing and I want to retire in 2040. I can buy a Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund for 0.2% annually. I have to do nothing else but pay into it and come back in 2040. It's easy for the punter and low cost.
I guess what its saying is:
- that there is very little real competition in the UK for H-L, and
- the general public don't know the damage that fees can do and so don't actively focus on them when investing
I thought the HL sipp was free essentally if you buy the funds that they get renewal commision. So in effect you only pay the fund manager fee so how can you arrange a sipp with lower costs. I have an aegonplan and pay .75% for nothing and then have to buy their funds or pay higher fees for additional choice like Artemis etc. So HL looks very cheap in comparison Whatsthe profit margin of aegon then???
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Poss scenario - sold London house 2007 turning £300k equity into $600k (2007 exchange rate)
Started buying Florida properties 2-3 at a time with c. $25K deposits to rent, cheaper each time.
Increasing rent rolling in. No voids because they managed the properties pro-actively.
Now selling some of the 18 to reduce their debt & Florida exposure, re-balance their finances and strengthen their war chest.
Selling the British B&B as a good going concern for a lot of money to fresh blood from Britain.
Just guessing.
Assuming they kept even a 2 bed flat in London and sold at or near the peak, I am sure they could have bought 18 properties in Florida, that makes sense (in a weird way) but they still would have need the inital capital to set up the B&B for visa purposes, so my "guess" is they sold up here in the UK when they moved out there 9 years ago.
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Ok you're new so I'll go easy.
The likelihood is that they have bought the properties over the course of the 3 years so benefitting from lower prices recently.
Unlikely they bought all of them at once at the top of the market.
There's nothing wrong with running a property business. Save your venom for amateur and accidental, ie. bad landlords. They are the real scum/idiots who deserve to crash and burn.
This couple struck me as pretty shrewd, understood that they had prospered through good fortune and hard work and were ready to recognise when things change and react contructively. I'd go hunting for tigers with them.
As for vacuous Janet - she will blunder on until she screws things up terminally for herself & her husband, or he deals with her to protect himself and others, e.g. their wider family and employees, in 'Of Mice and Men' style.
Thanks for going easy on me, no venom here, I just find it really hard to imagine, how they bought 18 houses, and especially in the past 3 years, as banks lending in has been pretty strict. They also said, they are selling up, so why would they buy then turn around and sell in a falling market? Don't you think its more likely they bought before the crash, when banks were financing 100%. Otherwise they would have had to have a large amount of cash to buy 18 houses, and its also highly unlikely to buy 18 houses, running a B&B. Just my assumptions, so if they are not bankrupt, then they must have a lot of cash from other means.
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Here we go... 18 properties for the Brit themed B&B pair.
Planning to sell up.
How long ago was this filmed?
Filmed in 2009, after 3 years off declining prices and all areas of Florida being atleast 50% minimum. I can't see how they could avoid foreclosures and bankruptcy.
They won't be going to New York, but probably back to New Cross or Newbury Park!
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I am thinking about buying a flat for the in laws I don't know anything about buying property so I am taking their advice. I have read s Korea is in a big property bubble but the in laws think it's a good time to buy. Does anyone have good understanding of south Korean property for advice
Usa Property
in Overseas property investment
Posted
Not sure if your being serious as I really find it hard to believe from an investment point of view choosing the UK over USA, but anyway… It’s not easy to find any cash flow positive property investment here in the UK unless you put down a very significant deposit, but you would lose on opportunity cost plus a big big risk that the UK property market falls further or at best going sideways for several years. With the USA you have much much higher yields in the majority of cities plus you have incredible tax advantages in the USA. The US market also looks like it has hit bottom as well. It really doesn’t make sense for an American to buy here unless you are intending to live here very long term at the same address, UK buying costs are extremely high if you have to pay stamp duty. Also if your getting advice from a UK estate agent, thinking they are as reputable as the American ones, you will get cleaned out.